- a study of fins, performance (speed / up-wind ability) - etc. - not necessarily for 'public-consumption' but to help-out the people who are trying to help ME OUT (the fin, board, fin-box, etc. people)
Some pictures (annotated) for those that
are attempting to help me out:
This Fin - labelled "Curtis H3 Tuttle - 88 (Meaning from 1988 (meaning about 19 years ago) is - in my (somewhat Un-humble) opinion my "Gold Standard". It is mounted on my Tropix 9'2" long 'planing rails' 130 liters, 20-22 pounds (volume and weight are estimates) board which is also circa 1985 or 1986.
This fin / board combination is both fast and points VERY HIGH (some of which could be the 'planing rails design of the board)...
However, I don't normally sail this board-fin combination with anything less than a 5.5 meter sail - when I go to a 5.0 meter sail - I typically go to the smaller "Express Air" board (2.7 meters long 'about' 75 liters - double-concave, very slight rocker, very light (about 14-16 pounds)...
This Fin - which came from I don't know where, and has the Tuttle Tang (or base) and is used on the Seatrend 2.69 meter long board with a 'virtually' flat bottom - is extremely similar in size and shape to my "Tuttle H3" fin, noted above.
This fin / board combination does NOT go upwind nor as fast as the above combination - and I've sailed both with the same Neil Pryde V8 - 3 camber, 6.0 meter (circa 2001 - 2002) sail... When I first got on this board-fin combination I 'seemed' to need more foot-control to keep the board 'level' (not railing-up) - however, after 10 minutes or so - I didn't notice this at all... I 'perceive' that a 6.0 sail (with the mast-base ALL the way forward (4 feet in front of the CL of the skeg) is too big for this board / fin combination... I 'suspect' (but don't have a lot of data) that this board/fin combination will work a lot better with a 5.0 meter sail than a 6.0 meter sail...
This Fin - which came with the Seatrend 2.69 meter long board, has the Tuttle base and it is not as fast (I don't think (Very subjectively) as the above fin, but it seems to point more... - it takes way more back-foot-control to keep the board from 'railing-up'...???
a couple of pictures of the Seatrend 2.69 meter long board
top-view:
bottom-view:
A couple of pictures of the Windspeed "Express Air" 2.70 meter board (this board is OVER 25 years old, but STILL FAST!
top-view:
bottom-view (note that there is a 'straight-edge' on the right-side of the bottom (left side of the picture) to indicate how much 'double-concave' there is? Note, also, at the extreme back of the board (right-side of the picture) the 'defective' skeg-box) and that will be replaced with a Tuttle box, soon!
A couple of pictures of the Tropix board:
side-view: (so one can note the 'rocker' in the board?
bottom-view; note skeg at back (left-side of picture) and - in middle the planing rails start, and along with those, the 'double-concave'. Note-also, though very hard to see, that the planing rails are also concave...
last updated: 10:39 a.m on Saturday, 26 May 2007; revID: 1c (in Stuart, Florida)
This Fin - labelled "Curtis H3 Tuttle - 88 (Meaning from 1988 (meaning about 19 years ago) is - in my (somewhat Un-humble) opinion my "Gold Standard". It is mounted on my Tropix 9'2" long 'planing rails' 130 liters, 20-22 pounds (volume and weight are estimates) board which is also circa 1985 or 1986.
This fin / board combination is both fast and points VERY HIGH (some of which could be the 'planing rails design of the board)...
However, I don't normally sail this board-fin combination with anything less than a 5.5 meter sail - when I go to a 5.0 meter sail - I typically go to the smaller "Express Air" board (2.7 meters long 'about' 75 liters - double-concave, very slight rocker, very light (about 14-16 pounds)...
This Fin - which came from I don't know where, and has the Tuttle Tang (or base) and is used on the Seatrend 2.69 meter long board with a 'virtually' flat bottom - is extremely similar in size and shape to my "Tuttle H3" fin, noted above.
This fin / board combination does NOT go upwind nor as fast as the above combination - and I've sailed both with the same Neil Pryde V8 - 3 camber, 6.0 meter (circa 2001 - 2002) sail... When I first got on this board-fin combination I 'seemed' to need more foot-control to keep the board 'level' (not railing-up) - however, after 10 minutes or so - I didn't notice this at all... I 'perceive' that a 6.0 sail (with the mast-base ALL the way forward (4 feet in front of the CL of the skeg) is too big for this board / fin combination... I 'suspect' (but don't have a lot of data) that this board/fin combination will work a lot better with a 5.0 meter sail than a 6.0 meter sail...
This Fin - which came with the Seatrend 2.69 meter long board, has the Tuttle base and it is not as fast (I don't think (Very subjectively) as the above fin, but it seems to point more... - it takes way more back-foot-control to keep the board from 'railing-up'...???
a couple of pictures of the Seatrend 2.69 meter long board
top-view:
bottom-view:
A couple of pictures of the Windspeed "Express Air" 2.70 meter board (this board is OVER 25 years old, but STILL FAST!
top-view:
bottom-view (note that there is a 'straight-edge' on the right-side of the bottom (left side of the picture) to indicate how much 'double-concave' there is? Note, also, at the extreme back of the board (right-side of the picture) the 'defective' skeg-box) and that will be replaced with a Tuttle box, soon!
A couple of pictures of the Tropix board:
side-view: (so one can note the 'rocker' in the board?
bottom-view; note skeg at back (left-side of picture) and - in middle the planing rails start, and along with those, the 'double-concave'. Note-also, though very hard to see, that the planing rails are also concave...
last updated: 10:39 a.m on Saturday, 26 May 2007; revID: 1c (in Stuart, Florida)